David Willetts: you ask the questions

The universities minister, David Willetts, joins the debate on the purpose of higher education. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

Who decides what universities do? Is it academics? Administrators? Students? Or the government?

This autumn sees a surge in debates about what universities are for, prompted by the change in funding arrangements introduced by the coalition government. With students mostly funding their own higher education, will their demands change? Some academics are worried that they are going to be merely expected to churn out graduates with job-related degrees, who are ready-trained in team leadership, corporate manners and PowerPoint.

Meawhile, Carl Lygo, head of BPP, the private provider, says he regrets the emphasis currently being placed on earning power. "I'm looking forward to when great public universities return to thinking about the wider good," he told Harriet Swain.

David Willetts, the universities minister, is not shying from the debate. He will be live online on Wednesday afternoon from 4.15pm to answer your questions about the role of universities. Post your comments here now.